Pages

Friday, June 6, 2014

Save the Clothes! Our favorite stain remover recipe.

I fell asleep super early last night putting Reagan to bed. I always feel like a dork when that happens, but I guess I needed the rest! So today I'm sharing a super quick blog post on one of my favorite household things!

It's summertime (almost) and that means lots of fun playing outside. It also means a lot of dirt and mud and grassy knees and popsicle drips and other unidentifiable filth. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. STAINS. Summertime is stain time.

I've found a super quick and easy way to get out almost any stubborn stain. It has saved money and some of our favorite clothes around here. And it's likely that you have the ingredients around the house already. If not, they are super easy to get!

Baking Soda

Hydrogen Peroxide

Blue Dawn Dish Soap

It's not an exact science when it comes to mixing. I usually add equal parts Dawn and peroxide with twice as much baking soda to get a nice consistency. I rarely actually measure it out. Cover any spots you see before putting the clothes in the wash and watch those stubborn stains disappear!

Check out one of Reagan's pathetic shirts....

I can't even tell you all of the junk that is on this shirt, haha. It comes from a full day out and a trip to grandma's, and I'm pretty sure there is some kool-aid and chocolate ice cream on there, among other things!

So I mixed up some totally awesome stain remover and smothered that shirt in it. :) This consistency was actually a bit thicker than I usually make it, but it did the same job.

After one wash cycle I inspected the shirt and still saw a few light spots, so I threw it in one more time with some more stain remover....

And after the second wash....

Pretty good! The shirt was saved.

I'm sure you already know this, but don't ever put your clothes in the dryer until you are happy with how they came out in the wash. Once they are dried, the stains are likely set for good.

Before and After

I love this stuff!

As with anything, stain treat at your own risk. Haha. I have found one color that you do NOT want to use this mixture on. Purple. For whatever reason purple gets bleached out and will take away the stain but will leave you with a lightened spot on the clothing. I've tried nearly every other color of the rainbow with no problems, but remember...it could still happen! My personal philosophy is, if the clothes are going to be ruined anyway, what can it hurt to try? :)

I hope that you can salvage some clothes this summer, yourself! I'm not finicky with my kids' clothing. They're kids - let them play and mess stuff up! But maybe I don't care because I know I have a totally awesome stain remover recipe that can save the day, anyway. Haha. Happy weekend, guys!